On Friday, Sept. 27, from 2:30–4 p.m., the Plastics Pioneers Reading Room, a gift of donors Glenn and Patsy Beall, will officially be dedicated and opened on the sixth floor of Syracuse University’s Bird Library. The public is invited to the ribbon-cutting event to open this new quiet study and exhibition space.
The opening celebration and ceremony will honor the Bealls, whose generous gift made possible the creation and construction of this new reading room dedicated to the SU Plastics Collection. While the collection, maintained by the Special Collections Research Center, holds more than 8,000 items, including artifacts, books, journals and memorabilia, it had only been available for viewing on the “plastics.syr.edu” website or by checking out one of the more than 2,000 books from the collection.
With the creation of the Plastics Pioneers Reading Room, many of the artifacts and resources will be on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The room was designed as a quiet reading room and a permanent exhibition space for the SU Plastics Collection, and includes a computer station to access the collection online.
The Bealls have dedicated the name of the room to the Plastics Pioneers, William H. Willert and the Antique Comb Collectors Club. Plastics Pioneers is a professional association of leaders in the plastics industry, all of whom have at least 30 years’ experience in the industry. Its history and artifacts committee, led by Glenn Beall, was a key player in forming the Plastics Collection at SU, along with founding support from Harry Greenwald and the Greenwald-Haupt Foundation.
For more information about the Plastics Pioneers Reading Room or on supporting the SU Libraries or the SU Plastics Collection, contact Ron Thiele at rlthiele@syr.edu.
